In the Light of the Shattered Moon
by Yellowdeath
Summary: Remnant is a dangerous world to live in - whole villages can fall in a single night. Not everyone can escape the ravages of the Grimm, but those who do are left forever damaged by the ordeal. Jaune Arc is one such person. Haunted by the slaughter of his family, he arrives at Beacon a changed man, ready to take the fight to the monsters that scarred him. {On Hiatus}
1. Prologue

The fire crackled as another log was placed atop the charred branches, spitting up a torrent of orange sparks. A voice cooed as their hand swept out to touch one, only to recoil at the heat.

"Careful," he chided softly.

His reply was a stuck-out tongue and he gently laughed at such childishness. Paying it no mind, he returned to his work, carefully carving away at the stick he held in one hand with his knife. It wasn't particularly suited to the job (he wasn't trusted with a sharper blade, much to his annoyance,) but it sufficed.

A casual prod at the stick's tip proved it to be pointed enough. Taking a marshmallow from the bag, he easily skewered it onto the stick. One down. As his fingers reached for another, they brushed against warm skin.

"Sable..." He warned.

"Oops," his sister said, utterly unrepentant as she withdrew with her prize.

"Those are for everyone," he reminded her. "If you lot just keep eating them out of the bag then we miss out on the whole experience."

"Yeah! Stop eating!" A squeaky voice added in, clearly having forgotten her own sweet thievery.

"Pipe down pipsqueak, bigger kids are talking," Sable sniffed as she consumed her ill-gotten treat.

"Pearl! Not pipsqueak," Pearl declared with a pout. It was an old debate and he tuned them out.

"Honestly, you three… This is meant to be a nice, calm fun time," their mother's voice called out to them.

"We are calm Mom," he replied as he put his stick next to the fire.

"Zen!" Pearl agreed, nodding excitedly.

"Right. Well, hopefully the others will be back soon. They've been gone for a while now…" she trailed off, mumbling worriedly to herself.

"That's alright, more marshmallows for me!" Sable crowed, happily snatching the stick and ripping a pair off with her teeth.

"No fair!" Pearl whined, her gap-teeth snapping as she tried to grab some for herself.

The sooner his father came to restore order, the better. At least it was only the two of them, if he'd been left with the twins as well he might have gone mad.

Sighing to himself, he reached for another stick.

* * *

"Jaune! Sable! Pearl!"

His eyes flew open, the knife dropping from his hand at the call. How long had he been resting? It felt like he had just closed his eyes.

"Uh… Yeah, Mom?" He replied hesitantly, scooping it up.

Just what was so urgent?

A terrifying screech pierced the twilight air. It bounced off the trees, sounding as if it was coming from everywhere at once.

"We have to run!" His mother cried and now other, different shrieks began to sound out too.

Horror filled him as he realised that some of them were human screams.

"What's going on?" He yelled out, trying to locate her in the dying firelight.

"Grimm!"

He froze in place as the shadows seem to distort. Was that the reflection of the flames or were those red, glowing eyes he saw?

Where was his father? Surely he could keep the demons at bay? One slash of his sword was all he needed to dispatch them.

A whimper caught his attention and he spun around. Sable looked up at him, one arm held around Pearl's mouth to silence her.

"Be quiet!" She hissed. "Maybe they won't find us."

"Jaune!" His mother cried again.

"We have to go!" He declared. "If those things come here, we're all dead."

Sable just shook her head as Pearl squirmed.

He stared down at his sisters, torn. Did he dare leave them to save himself? They would surely be doomed.

He clenched his teeth in annoyance as he turned away. He needed to find Dad, that was it. If they were all together, they would be fine.

"Stay here then," he said as he strode off to follow his mother's voice.

The sound of the trees creaking in the wind mingled with the howls of the monsters, yet he could hear no more screams - was that a good thing? His fingers tightened on his knife - it would be no real help, he knew, yet it was better than nothing.

There was no sign of his mother anywhere but he dared not call out for her. Was he even going in the right way? There was no way of knowing.

As he trudged onwards, the growls grew quieter, less frequent. Would he find his parents at all before the Grimm found him?

Something splashed underneath his foot. Had he stepped into a puddle? His eyes had been so focused on looking ahead that he could hardly spare a moment to watch where he was putting his feet, even when he kept tripping over tree roots.

He glanced down. It wasn't a puddle.

Blood ran like a river from the hole in her chest where her rib cage had been torn open and the contents ripped out. Wide blue eyes stared at him, but there wasn't a spark of life in them - her head had been severed from her body.

He distantly wondered which wound had killed her.

"Saffron…" He whispered as bile began to rise from his stomach.

Tears leaked from his eyes but he could not stop to mourn his sister lest he joined her. A few steps forward revealed two more bodies huddled together.

Aureolin and Arylide. Even in death, the twins were at each other's sides, clutching one another.

A crunching sound disturbed his sorrow.

He slowly turned to see the hulking outline of a wolf-like monster. It was crouched over, tearing at something on the ground. A pair of cracked glasses lay beside it, reflecting the light of the shattered moon. Citron.

The beast hadn't noticed him yet, focused as it was on its meal. Great rents were gouged in its inky, writhing hide and one of its arms was missing. Yet the bony plates that covered its form were spattered with red.

What was he to do now? If he moved, would it see him? How could he hope to fight it off? His breath began to come in shallower bursts and his heart beat ever faster until he thought he would collapse and die then and there.

He looked around wildly, hoping for salvation. A glint of white caught his eyes. There! His father's shield, the twin crescents of the Arc symbol defiled by mud and gore. But beyond it lay something else too.

His heart dropped.

Jonquil Arc lay sprawled against the roots of a great tree. His right hand held Crocea Mors, his ancestral sword, risen as if to strike. Red fluid covered the tip, dripping down the length of the blade.

In his left hand he clutched his youngest daughter to him. Unlike the other bodies, Jasmine almost looked peaceful. Blood was seeping out of the wound in her chest.

His father had seemed invincible to him. A strong, renowned Huntsman who had never failed to defeat his prey. Yet proof of his mortality was all too apparent in the injuries that coated his body, the cracks in his armour.

He had taken many of their number but the Grimm had broken him in the end.

A growl sounded from behind him. His eyes widened as he looked back to see the Beowulf advance, crimson eyes focused squarely on him. It's jaws opened wide, teeth filled with the flesh of his siblings.

It would kill him too, he knew. Him, his remaining sisters and his mother as well. The whole Arc family, slaughtered in one night.

He turned to run, but it was upon him in moments, bounding forward to swipe at him with its remaining arm. The claws bit deep into his flesh, slicing across his face. He screamed in pain and terror as the force of the blow knocked him back.

It wasn't finished with him yet. It seemed to savour his fear as it prowled forwards, almost waiting to see what he would do. He squinted at it through the blood that seeped into his eyes, bringing his hands together to pray for a miracle.

The knife smacked into his palm. He had managed to keep ahold of it throughout, his fingers so tightly clenched that the bones began to grind against each other. If he was going to die, he was at least going to go down fighting like his father had.

The beast seemed almost amused by his resolve, expelling its breath in a mocking howl. It raised its paw once again, smacking the knife from his hands. It flew out into the bushes, far beyond his reach.

There went his only means of defence. Yet he still refused to give up and die. He stared his enemy down as it came for him.

The monster's jaws wrapped around his midsection, a crushing bite that would surely kill him instantly. Suddenly his body flashed white and the beast howled, dropping him to rear back in pain and confusion.

He was alive? What had just happened?

No answers were forthcoming from the snarling beast as it glowered hatefully at him, yet seemed a little warier now. He tried to push himself up onto his backside, but his questing hands found something other than dirt and blood.

It was his father's shield - he must have been knocked next to it in the struggle. It was a lifeline, nothing had ever penetrated its thick bulk before. He quickly raised it before him as the Beowulf decided he wasn't actually a threat.

It crashed into the shield, attempting to seize it in its jaws. He barely managed to hold on as it tossed its head about, yapping and growling.

If he was by the shield then he was by his father. And if he was by his father, then he was by…

His fingers clenched around the hilt of Crocea Mors. He ripped it free from his father's cold embrace. It had served him well, but he had no further need of it now.

The metal felt strangely light in his hand though Crocea Mors was not a small blade. As the Beowulf finally knocked his shield aside and prepared to make another attack, Jaune readied himself for it.

He would finish this. For his sisters, for his father and for himself.

The beast charged forward, howling with fury. Crocea Mors sank deep into it, and the monster shuddered in pain, snapping its jaws one last time before going still. He collapsed under the strain of its bulk.

The weight on his chest began to dissipate until he was left alone with nothing but the remnants of his family's bodies. He lay there, panting as terror, fatigue and pain mingled together until the toll finally proved too much and unconsciousness took him.


	2. A Light on the Horizon

Pain wracked his body as they began to descend. Not for the first time he cursed his stomach and its inability to withstand motion properly. What fickle monster had thrust this malady upon him?

Airsickness truly was a terrible thing.

Fortunately Beacon wasn't far away from what brief glimpses he could glimpse through the glass in between upheavals. He could hear voices beside him but paid them no mind as he struggled to keep his breakfast inside.

The internal torment finally began to subside as the airship pulled to stop, the sweet merciful release of solid ground awaiting him. He brushed past a pair of girls, Huntress candidates most likely, as he sought out the nearest trash can. Whoever had placed one so near the docking station had his eternal gratitude.

Ahhh… It was with some relief that he finally vented the food that had tried so hard to escape. Nearby people pointed and laughed at him and he scowled. How lucky they were to not feel what he felt. He would gladly trade places with any of them.

Still, he didn't come all this way just to vomit in a bin. Spitting out the last remnants of bile, he turned to face the glittering spires that lay before him. Beacon truly was a beautiful place.

But what was he to do now?

He had been so consumed by trying to keep what he'd consumed, he'd completely forgotten to read the itinerary that had been provided on the airship and had left it behind in his haste. Hopefully someone nearby could lead him to where they needed to go.

The sound of an explosion froze him in his tracks. What was that? Were they under attack? Was this some weird initiation thing to test their combat readiness? Of course! This was a Huntsman Academy, they would definitely make sure their candidates were up to the task at all times.

He drew Crocea Mors from its shield-sheath, expanding that as he went. He would not be caught out unawares.

As he hunkered down, weapon at the ready, the sight of three young girls caught his attention. The most striking of which had white hair and the attire to match. Wow, she was gorgeous. And that scar over her eye…

He reached up to run a finger across his own face, tracing the marks that lay across. They almost matched, how interesting.

Yet the girl beside her was not taken in by her beauty, her high-pitched voice squeaking about something as she attempted to dodge the hand being waved in her face. Clad in a red hood, she seemed suspiciously young to be in Beacon. Perhaps she was just a late bloomer.

The last girl looked ordinary enough, save for her piercing yellow eyes. The bow she wore was a bit unorthodox, but who was he to judge? No one had ever accused him of being fashionable.

He watched in minor fascination as she walked up to the pair and though he couldn't quite hear what she was saying it was enough to drive the white-haired girl away. A shame. The urge to follow her crossed his mind for a moment, but he resisted.

Yet as soon as White-hair had left, Black-hair made her escape as well, though in the opposite direction. Perhaps they were enemies. Rivalries between Hunters were rare - an enemy you make today might become an ally you need to rely on tomorrow - but they did still happen on occasion.

Red-hood sighed pitifully as she watched Black-hair sashay away (and it was an impressive sashay he had to admit), collapsing onto her knees and then onto her back in despair. He regarded her thoughtfully, reverting his shield back into a sheath and stowing his sword back inside.

Should he go over to her? No one else seemed to be paying her any mind. He still wasn't sure where to go (White-hair and Black-hair had headed in different ways, which was annoying), maybe she knew. It had to be worth a try.

Shrugging, he made his way over to where she lay on the ground mumbling to herself.

"Hey," he muttered, offering her a hand. "You alright?"

She considered it for a moment.

"Thanks. My name's Ruby," she introduced herself. "Ruby Rose."

He supposed that was better than red-hood.

"I'm Jaune Arc," he replied in turn and she squinted at him.

"Aren't you the guy who was throwing up earlier?" She snickered.

He glowered at her, teeth clenching. This girl didn't know how good she had it.

"Yeah, well, some people aren't fortunate enough to be born without motion sickness. It's actually quite a common thing," he replied tersely.

Her silver eyes widened.

"Gee, sorry," she whispered.

In the face of such cuteness, he had no choice but to relent.

"No, it's fine. Anyway, what was the deal with you and that white-haired girl?" He asked as she dusted herself off.

"Oh. I… uh… accidentally blew her up," she admitted as they began to walk.

Ah. So that explosion had been her. Guess he had just been paranoid. Well that explained a lot at any rate.

"I can see why she was so unhappy now," he remarked.

"It was an accident! She should have been more careful with her luggage, anyone could have stepped on that dust!" The girl cried.

Somehow he doubted that. Most people actually watched where they were going, especially in an environment like this.

"Sure. I'm just glad I don't use dust, otherwise I'd have to make a hasty exit," he laughed.

She grumbled, pouting adorably. The two walked in silence for few moments before Ruby found herself unable to take it.

"So… I got this thing," she said, bringing out a red object from under her hood that suddenly expanded.

Jaune leapt back to avoid getting skewered by the giant scythe.

"What the-!" He yelled, his hands grasping the hilt of Crocea Mors.

"Oh, sorry!" Ruby apologised, pulling her weapon back.

Jaune frowned at her but let his sword go now that it was clear he wasn't under attack. He inspected the weapon before him.

It was big, almost as big as the girl who wielded it. That was impressive, most people settled for something a little more convenient.

He wasn't exactly well-versed in weaponcraft so the functions of the various knobs and bits that dotted the weapon were mostly a mystery, but it was obviously some sort of mechashift, presumably a gun. That was common of most mechashift weapons, a melee and a ranged function was ideal.

His own blade had no such ability, which was a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it performed exactly as it was meant to with no real possibility of error, but on the other hand enemies that did have a ranged function had a pretty significant advantage over it.

Of course, he had a way to combat that, but still, it would have been nice to only need the one weapon.

"It's pretty nice," he decided. "Very lethal looking."

"Thank you! Crescent Rose is my baby. My lean, mean, Grimm-killing machine! " Ruby exclaimed.

Privately he thought that the way she was fondling it was far from normal, but whatever floated her boat.

"But enough about her! What about you?" She asked, silver eyes wide with excitement. She looked like a puppy that had spotted someone eating something nice.

"I have a sword," he said simply, withdrawing Crocea Mors.

"Ooh," she said appreciatively, admiring the blade.

"Comes with a shield for extra protection," he added, expanding it to show her.

"So, what do they do?" She asked.

"Well, the sword lets me stab stuff and the shield stops stuff from stabbing me," he explained. "Both of which are a big help in a fight, I find."

Ruby groaned.

"No, I mean, what do they shift into?" She asked. "Crescent Rose shifts into a high-impact sniper rifle, but your sword is a little small for that."

"My sword is definitely big enough, thanks," Jaune exclaimed a little defensively as Ruby blinked in confusion. "But to answer your question; the shield shifts into a sheath. The sword shifts into… nothing. It's just a sword."

"Oh. Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons… guess I went a little overboard when designing mine," she replied.

He stared at her in faint surprise.

"You made that? Really?" He muttered.

She certainly didn't look like a weaponscrafter and that was no simple weapon. It looked expertly-made, every inch of it flawless.

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" She asked.

His face darkened.

"No. They… belonged to my father," he explained.

"Oh. Um, sorry," she apologised again.

"Except for this," he said, ignoring her as he reached behind him to unlatch his final weapon.

"A revolver? Does this one not shift either?" She wondered.

"Nope, just shoots bullets. A little something for when I need a bit more reach. Okay, yeah, sometimes my sword isn't big enough, there I said it," he explained.

"Well that's fair enough," Ruby decided. "Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Classics. Well that was one way of putting it. If he'd had the fortune to go to a fancy prep school, maybe he'd also have a cool unique weapon like her. But there was no point dwelling on what never was.

"So, why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard?" She continued.

"I hoped you'd know the way," he said.

Ruby frowned a little before realisation struck her.

"I thought that you knew the way!" She cried.

Crap. On reflection, maybe he should have asked before following her. This was the price he paid for being careless. Or maybe he should have just followed the white-haired girl like he'd originally thought.

Too late now. He glanced around but there was no one else to accost for directions.

"I guess we just have to hope for the best," he decided.

Shrugging, Ruby continued onwards.

* * *

Finally. After much walking and then much retracing of their steps, they'd eventually managed to come to their destination.

Those were some big doors to say the least. What kind of giants were running this place?

As they entered the room, a voice began to call out.

"Ruby, over here! I saved you a spot!"

They glanced over to see a somewhat sparsely-dressed blonde girl waving at them. Boy was she not shy about showing her body off. Still, who was he to complain? It was a pretty nice view.

"Oh! Hey, I gotta go - I'll see you after the ceremony," Ruby said, speeding off to join her.

He watched her go before shrugging.

"Weird girl. Nice, but weird," he muttered, turning to find an empty seat.

"Ah, excuse me," he said as he tried to squeeze past a redheaded girl.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said as she allowed him past but he paid her no more attention as he walked on.

There had to be an empty seat somewhere. He trudged along the rows, hoping to find a break in the crowd when raised voices caught his attention.

"Yeah! And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde and scraggly over there!"

He looked up.

Was that Ruby and the blonde girl? And the white-haired girl as well. And she was pointing at him!

He glared at her. Who did this girl think she was? Just because she was unnaturally attractive didn't give her the right to pass judgement on him. And for her information, he was lean and well-muscled!

He was just about to go over there when the whine of a microphone rang out from the speakers.

His outrage forgotten, he looked to the front to see a man in green push his spectacles further up his nose as he began to give a speech.

Hmm. This must be someone pretty important then, he surmised. Not the most motivational of speakers though, it had to be said.

Who was he calling wasted energy anyway? How dare he.

His indignance waned as a blonde woman stepped up to the mic to give further instructions before dismissing them.

Right. Well, before that he was going to let white-hair have it!

"He seemed kind of... off," the blonde girl was saying.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby agreed.

"Hey you, who were you calling scraggly?" He demanded.

White-hair merely looked at him like he was an unusual species of animal that had suddenly learned to talk before stomping off.

Now that was just rude.

Just as he was preparing to storm after her, Ruby grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey Jaune! This is my sister, Yang," Ruby said, waving her other arm at the blonde girl beside her.

"Nice to meetcha," Yang grinned. "Thanks for helping out my li'l sister."

He shrugged.

"It was nothing, really," he said. "So, sisters? Forgive me, but you don't exactly look like twins."

"Oh, we're not. This one here's two years younger than me," Yang said, grabbing Ruby by the shoulder and pulling her into a one-armed hug. It did some interesting things to her chest - did she really not care how exposed she was?

"Two years? You're only fifteen?" He asked Ruby.

That explained her suspiciously young looks at least. Hopefully she would grow out of that, especially considering her sister. It was interesting that they didn't look all that alike though.

"Yeff," she replied, muffled by Yang's body.

"And they let you come to Beacon? That's… unusual," he said.

Just who was this girl?

"Damn right, she's super special!" Yang crowed, whispering something about knees.

"Nuuuuuh!" Ruby wailed.

"By the way, Jaune, that's a pretty wicked scar. How'd you get it?" Yang asked, finally letting Ruby go.

"Yang!" Ruby hissed, scandalised by her sister's lack of tact.

Jaune froze for a moment, unsure how to respond, before he finally uncoiled. She was just curious, he knew. She didn't mean anything by it.

"A Grimm," he said simply.

"Oh. That makes sense…" Yang trailed off.

"A-anyway, thanks again for helping me out earlier!" Ruby butted in, eager to diffuse the tension.

He couldn't help but smile despite himself.

"It's fine, really. Anyway, I gotta go get settled in. See you," he replied.

"Bye Jaune!" The pair called as he headed off.

He snarled to himself as he left. Even after all this time he still got caught out when people mentioned it! It wasn't as if it was inconspicuous, of course they were going to keep bringing it up. Maybe he should start wearing a mask or something.

No, wait, that was a bad idea. People might think he was a terrorist. Guess he was just going to have to live with people's questions - and the constant reminder of why he had it.

Not that he ever forgot, of course.

Still, his less-than-mellow thoughts were helping in one aspect - people were moving out of his way quite quickly now. Was his face really that intimidating?

Thankfully he'd happened across a map of the Academy that someone had dropped - their loss was his gain. He could swing by to the locker room, store his armour and weapons there, get changed and then get back to the ballroom and get rested for the day ahead.

That was the plan at any rate. Sadly the entrance to the locker room was blocked.

"Mind moving? You're kinda in the way," he said to the boy standing before him.

"Oh? That so? Well, so sorry to inconvenience you," the boy said.

Looking at his close-cropped orange hair and excessive muscle, Jaune was privately surprised the guy even knew a word as long as 'inconvenience' and was able to pronounce it correctly at all.

"Yeah well, just let me through," he said.

"Name's Cardin. Cardin Winchester," the boy continued, unconcerned by Jaune's impatience.

"I didn't ask for your name, I said I want to go inside," Jaune demanded.

"Y'know, it's pretty rude to not give your own name when someone tells you theirs," the boy said, casually hefting his huge mace onto one shoulder.

Jaune considered it for a moment. That would undoubtedly hurt quite a lot if the boy decided to take a swing at him - his shield and armour would hardly help against blunt force trauma and the boy was even more armoured than he was.

Semblance and back-up-plan it would have to be then.

"Jaune, happy now?" He responded, preparing for an attack. "Will you please let me go through?"

"See, that's all you needed to say, Jauney-boy. A little politeness never hurt anyone, right?" Cardin said, slouching aside.

Was this guy for real? Well, whatever. He was free to go now at least.

Ignoring the smirking ginger, he stalked inside, looking for a suitable empty locker amongst the rows.

The ones at the end probably wouldn't be taken. He walked along the rows before making a sudden stop.

636\. Well that was good enough for him. And the code… 73376. That would do. Probably a good idea to write that all down though, just in case. It would suck to have his weapons stuck in there - these things probably weren't cheap to replace.

Still, that was one task down. All he had to do now was fetch his luggage and find a suitable changing room to get into his shorts and hoodie. Maybe he should have brought some pyjamas? Oh well.

* * *

It was already dark when he finally made his way into the ballroom. Sleeping bags were laid in rows across the floor and they were filling up quick. Hopefully he'd be able to grab one in a less crowded area.

As he walked across the room, the sound and spectacle of a group of boys wrestling shirtless caught his attention. What on Remnant were they doing? Was this just childish roughhousing or some sort of last-minute exercise before initiation?

Hmm, there was a thought. Maybe he should join in, ensure he was fully warmed up for the day ahead? No, what if it tired him a little bit. He needed to be in tiptop condition. Who knew what they would throw at him tomorrow.

As he walked along he caught sight of a familiar pair. Was Yang looking at him? Ah, no, she had just been looking at the others it seemed, though she spared a wave for him as Ruby glanced up.

Huh. Offering the pair a wave in return, he continued onwards. There was the sleeping bag he sought, free from any neighbouring annoyances.

Hopefully he would sleep well tonight - tomorrow would be a very important day.


	3. The Forest for the Trees

He yawned again for the third time that morning. Early to bed, early to rise… He wished. Sleeping in a room filled with teenagers had been hell. Every five minutes there were loud conversations, arguments and, on a few occasions, actual fights.

Still, it was over now. The new dawn had greeted them to deliver a whole new world of opportunity. Of purpose. Of…

Some strange ginger girl rambling on, some distance in front. She wasn't alone, however, there was a boy that she stood beside and occasionally ran circles around, waving her arms.

She reminded him of one of his sisters. Her actions were far from a rare occurrence, judging by the the look he'd glimpsed on the boy's face; it was impressively blank. If it wasn't for the fact he was upright and moving, the guy could probably be mistaken for a corpse.

He probably was dead inside to be honest.

The words continued to stream out of the ginger's mouth and the pair trudged ahead of him. Part of him was tempted to push ahead into the locker room but the boy had yet to say anything and it would be a shame to miss his response to her deluge. If he could even hear it from here - Pink-lock probably wasn't as loud as Ginger.

Sadly the boy continued to march stoically as they head off to find their locker. Oh well. His own was at the end but thankfully there weren't many others in his way.

Ah, there was Yang. And Ruby too, of course. She was squeaking something about... shells? Odd. Probably talking about artillery or something, she was into weapons wasn't she?

"Morning, you two," he greeted them.

Ruby brightened, beaming at him.

"Jaune! You're someone I know!" She said excitedly as she zoomed over to him.

He blinked, taking a step backwards.

"I… yes? I suppose?" He admitted.

"Then it's sorted," Ruby finished triumphantly, turning back to her sister.

Yang smothered a laugh as he scratched the back of his head in confusion. After a moment it became apparent neither sister was going to elaborate, Ruby muttering to herself as Yang watched them both with a grin.

"Okay, you know what, I'm just gonna go to my locker…" He said, deciding not to get involved.

"Bye Jaune," Yang chuckled as he passed.

Odd girls. But he couldn't keep getting distracted by every weirdo that crossed his path - today was important. It was serious. It was-

"Great!"

White-hair. And she just happened to be in front of his locker, how unfortunate. She didn't pay him any mind as he walked towards her and the redhead she was with, her face scrunched up into a devious smirk.

"You know what else would be great? You moving so I can get to my locker," he told her.

"You again?" She growled.

Up close it was incredible how pale she was. Did she have any blood in her body at all? No wait, her cheeks seemed to be getting some tiny splotches of colour as she glared at him. Somehow it made her even more attractive, which really annoyed him.

"Nice to meet you…" Redhead jumped in before trailing off.

He considered her for a moment.

"Jaune," he grunted.

"Jaune," she repeated with a wave.

He merely nodded, uninterested.

"So, White-hair, you're still in my way. And don't think I don't remember you insulting me yesterday as well," he said with a glower.

She stepped back with a snarl but said nothing as he opened his locker door. The redhead looked between them unsurely.

"Jaune, Weiss and I were just talking about teams…" Redhead began.

"So?" He replied as he rooted around in his locker.

Why had he put his spare ammunition so far back? His fingers kept just brushing against it.

"W-well, there are four people in a team… Have you decided who you will be joining up with?" She continued.

He paused as he considered her words. He'd heard some rumours about teaming up but nothing concrete. Four people, huh? That could be an issue. Did he even know enough people that he liked to fill a team? Not really.

"...I haven't thought about it," he said begrudgingly.

"Perhaps you might join us then? We still need two more," Redhead finished.

Beside her Weiss made a displeased scoffing noise.

Redhead seemed like a decent girl but he wasn't going near Weiss if he could help it, beautiful face or not. He wouldn't be at all surprised if she'd earned her scar by mouthing off to the wrong person, judging by her attitude.

"No thanks," he decided as he checked his revolver.

Strangely that seemed to infuriate Weiss even more.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" She asked, her words dripping with derision.

"Not in the slightest," he replied cheerfully, snapping the chamber back into place and giving it a spin.

"This is Pyrrha," Weiss snapped.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha waved once more.

He raised an eyebrow at them.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum," Weiss continued haughtily.

"What of it?" He retorted, bored already. What time did Initiation start again?

Weiss scoffed again.

"She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row - a new record!"

"How great for you," he replied as he fished his scroll from his pocket.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss shrieked, waving her arms in frustration.

That, at least, surprised him. He'd always enjoyed the cereal as a child, all his siblings had. They went through so many boxes of the stuff they could often afford to turn in the tops for merchandise. He'd had one of their hoodies once.

It was quite an impressive feat to become one of their mascots - he could still remember the picture of his first childhood celebrity crush, Tawny Aegean, as she posed on the front with a wink. His sisters would always laugh about it at breakfast.

He sniffed, blinking his eyes before they threatened to betray him.

"Huh. I guess that is pretty cool," he said, his voice a little husky.

Damn that white haired girl.

"Yeah. Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you," Pyrrha replied.

"But as interesting as that is, the answer's still no," he decided.

"Oh, well, if you change your mind then you'd still be welcome," Pyrrha replied a little glumly as Weiss goggled at him.

He shrugged, turning to leave as the loudspeaker began to blare out.

"Would all First Year students please report to Beacon Cliff for Initiation. Again, all First Year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately," a female voice announced.

"Ah, finally," he muttered and Weiss stalked past him. Pyrrha gave him one last glance before following her.

"It was nice meeting you," she said.

"Likewise," he agreed.

"Wow. She might have it out for you even worse than she does for Ruby," Yang declared as she walked up to stand beside him.

Ruby pouted but couldn't deny the statement as she stepped into line with them.

"Yeah well, some people are like that," he responded, unbothered. "No manners."

"Whereas you are just a regular ol' Mr Nice Guy, right?" Yang replied with a laugh.

Just what was she trying to say exactly?

"Well he helped me out," Ruby interjected. "That was nice."

"Yeah, I suppose so. Anyway come on, the cliffs aren't far," Yang admitted as the trio headed out.

* * *

"For years, you have trained to become warriors," the old man began.

Jaune winced slightly but quickly tried to keep a blank face. It wasn't entirely untrue, at least.

"And today… Your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," he finished.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams," the blonde woman cut in. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion - each of you will be given teammates today."

Ruby squeaked beside him

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," the old man started again. "That being said… the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Oh boy. He was going to get Weiss, wasn't he? That was just his kind of luck. Four years of hell, here we go.

"What?" Ruby squealed despondently as the ginger girl began to babble to her unfortunate companion.

"After you've partnered up, make your end to the northern end of the forest," the old man said, ignoring the chatter. "You will meet opposition in your way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die."

Well that was ominous.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation - but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item - as well as your standing - and grade you appropriately," the old man finished.

He stared at them all for a few seconds.

"Are there any questions?"

"Yeah. When you say 'destroy everything in your path', this doesn't include the other students does it?" Jaune asked.

The old man blinked behind his glasses as the other students stared at him. A few paces away, Cardin snorted, hefting his mace.

"...It has been quite some time since someone has asked that. No, it does not. Grimm and environment only, any serious injuries intentionally caused to other students will be… noted," the old man said.

The woman beside him tightened her hand on her riding crop.

"Alright, sure-"

"Now, take your positions," the old man cut across him.

The other students began to tense up. That was weird. And now that he came to think of it, where was the climbing equipment they'd be using to scale the cliff?

"Also, don't we get any ropes or such?" Jaune asked.

"How would a rope help you?" The old man seemed to be genuinely curious.

"Well you kinda need it to get-" Jaune cut his words off at the sound of a woosh to his left. Glancing up he saw Weiss sailing through the air, a white blur gone in seconds.

"Oh," he murmured.

He glanced down to look at the grey tile they had been told to stand on. At the time it had seemed innocent enough. How paranoid he had been yesterday, thinking that Beacon might attack them head on. That was too direct, it seemed, better to let the ground do the job instead.

The sound of pads springing up grew louder and louder as closer students were launched. Maybe he should just step off. Take a run for the cliff. It'd be a shorter drop, but he'd still have to land, right? It would surely count.

But then he'd be further away from the relic. That was the goal. Find a partner, find a relic, get back and become a Huntsman. Except no one ever said they'd throw them off the damn cliff!

And now he was out of time. Ruby was no longer next to him as she was borne aloft.

"You could at least have given us a parachute," he grumbled as the old man took a sip from his mug.

And then gravity took hold.

* * *

The ground was rapidly approaching - very much more rapidly approaching than he cared for. And what did he have to slow him down? A sword, a shield and a gun. None of which were designed to circumvent being splattered across the ground.

His shield was the only thing he had that could help him, it would reduce his drag at least a little. But he'd only be able to hold it with one hand which would be less than ideal - but more ideal than landing hard in a forest full of Grimm without his main weapon, which was the alternative.

His semblance might help. He'd never taken a drop that big before and it would hurt like hell for sure, but he would probably survive. Possibly even intact.

It was what came after that would be the biggest issue - fighting Grimm on low aura would be a death sentence if there was no one around. But what choice was there at this point? He had been the one that had chosen to come to Beacon - though he was definitely having second thoughts now.

He jerked to avoid a sudden branch and then something skittered off his shield, throwing him off balance. He swore loudly, fighting to keep ahold of his gear as a voice shouted something at him from far away.

That had looked like a weapon. Had someone tried to kill him? The old man had definitely said no injuring other students, what madman was trying his luck?

He'd have suspected Weiss if he hadn't already seen her weapon. It was short range and she didn't have the arms for throwing it. That brute Cardin certainly did though, and he had seemed amused by the thought of fighting when the question had been posed.

His mace had been red too, hadn't it? There was a fire dust crystal in the head. Hmm...

He'd been so startled by the sudden attack that he'd almost forgotten he was falling out of the damn sky until the tree he impacted against reminded him. Oh that was gonna hurt in the morning.

He dropped, smashing against branches until finally, mercifully, the ground once more resumed its task of bearing him. He panted hard on his hands and knees for a few seconds. Gods, that had been rough. He was never going near a cliff again.

"Yang! Yang!" A voice called.

He glanced up to spot a dark blur heading towards him before it skidded to a halt.

"Ruby?" Jaune mumbled, gasping for breath and spitting out a leaf.

"Jaune!" The silver-eyed girl shouted as she reached out a hand to haul him up.

"Thanks. Guess that makes us even, huh?" He said with a chuckle.

"Heh. Guess so, partner," she replied happily.

"Which way should we-" he began, only to suddenly quiet.

He put a finger his lips when Ruby opened her mouth, then pointed over to their left. The sound of bushes rustling grew louder. His fingers tightened around Crocea Mors as he prepared to charge.

"Ugh. It's you two," Weiss sneered as she stepped out from the thicket.

"Ruby," Jaune said after a moment. "I love you. Talk about a close shave."

"Hey Weiss," Ruby greeted her, confused by his remark but deciding to ignore it.

"No Pyrrha, I see," Jaune needled.

Weiss simply glared at them before turning around and walking back the way she came.

Ruby took a few steps forward before noticing Jaune wasn't following.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" She asked.

"No. She'll be fine on her own, and I'm sure she'd prefer it if we didn't," he said.

He certainly would prefer it too.

"Alright. Should we continue on this way then? I want to find Yang," Ruby agreed, pointing ahead.

That was fine with him.

"Sure. And then we get those relics. Might be an idea to start thinking of a way to get back up that damn cliff as well," he replied.

They'd only made it a short distance before the sight of something stuck in a branch caught his attention. It was a bright red javelin.

"Son of a bitch," he growled under his breath.

"Jaune?" Ruby spoke, confused by his anger.

"Hang on a moment Ruby, I need to return that to its owner. Ideally in much the same way they offered it to me," he responded, reaching up to grab a branch and haul himself towards it.

"Someone threw it at you?" Ruby asked, aghast. "Why?"

"Trying to remove some competition early, maybe. Who knows. Still, they don't have it now," he grunted as it he reached forward to wrench it free.

But just as his fingers began to clamp around it, the javelin jerked, pulling free with a strange black glow covering it. Jaune reared back, almost falling off the branch in surprise as it floated through the air.

"That's mine," Pyrrha said as she returned it to her side.

"Yeah? You weren't so attached to it earlier. Though I very nearly was," Jaune hissed angrily.

"Jaune, I'm sure it was just an accident," Ruby tried to placate him.

"Of course, who hasn't 'accidentally' tried to murder someone everyone once in a while?" He laughed darkly.

Though come to think of it, Ruby had nearly cut his head off the day before. What was with these girls?

"I-I… I was just trying to help, I swear, I'm sorry," she apologised as he leapt off the branch.

"I cannot see how putting a spear through my torso could possibly help me do anything except move on to the afterlife," he said as he frowned at her.

"It was to- I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt you, honestly," Pyrrha insisted. "Sorry."

Jaune looked at her before throwing up his hands in frustration.

"Alright, yes, you've apologised enough," he sighed.

"I really am sorry," Pyrrha said again.

"I know. Just forget about it. We need to find those relics," he muttered, shaking his head in annoyance.

"And Yang!" Ruby added.

"Yes, her too, sure. Maybe she's with the relics, who knows?" Jaune replied.

"She's probably looking for me. We were gonna be partners. Not that I'm upset that you're my partner!" Ruby exclaimed.

Pyrrha smiled bitterly beside her.

"Right. What do these relics look like anyway, either of you know?" Jaune wondered.

"Nope."

"I'm afraid not. Headmaster Ozpin only told us that they would be in the abandoned temple at the end of the path," Pyrrha reminded him.

"Oh yeah, he did, didn't he? Can't be that many of those around, I expect. The thing is, what exactly does an abandoned temple look like?" He wondered, scrutinising the rocks and bushes around them. "And what sort of path?"

"I'm sure we'll know it when we see it," Pyrrha said sagely.

"I hope so, but I wouldn't put it past that ol- Ozpin to put it somewhere obscure. Abstract. For all we know we it could be underground and we're walking over it!" Jaune exclaimed, kicking the earth.

"Let's find Yang first, and maybe then break out the shovels," Ruby decided.


	4. Crushing Victory

"To be honest I'm surprised we haven't run into any Grimm yet. You'd expect a Huntsman Academy to have at least some nearby," Jaune muttered, mainly to break the monotony.

It felt like they'd been walking for hours with nothing eventful happening, save for Ruby showing off the power of her beloved scythe and chopping a tree in half.

Pyrrha had seemed very impressed, but frankly it had been a little horrifying for him to watch the tiny girl heft such a deadly weapon with such ease. There was no doubting that she was a terror on the battlefield.

As they walked, Pyrrha froze with her head perked up and it became apparent why a moment after. There was a loud yell and the sound of gunshots echoing off the trees.

"That's probably Grimm," She deduced.

"That's definitely Yang," Ruby replied.

"Huh. Looks like that's at least two mysteries solved then. Only one more to go," Jaune finished.

The trio began to run as the gunfire and yelling continued. Perhaps Yang needed help against whatever she was fighting.

Dodging through the trees and over rocks they burst through into a clearing only to stare in amazement at the sheer devastation that had been wrought - charred trees, splintered logs and shattered rocks littered the area. In the very middle was a pile of black Ursa corpses.

Crouched on top of one was a girl on fire, savagely punching the Ursa in the face. Judging by the black wisps coming from its decomposing corpse it had been dead for a little while, but that didn't seem to matter to the berserk blonde.

"Yang?" Ruby called out to her tentatively.

Her head suddenly rose as she looked at her little sister, furious crimson eyes instantly melting into lilac. She let go of her broken victim, eagerly surging forward to sweep her sibling into a tight hug.

"Ruby!" She cheered.

Jaune stared at the broken pile behind her. That was a lot of damage she'd inflicted. He looked at the hugging pair cautiously.

He'd never seen anyone do that before. Just what horrors had the Grimm inflicted on her to cause such unbridled ferocity? Perhaps their past was similar to his own, that the rage that drove her was fuelled by a desire for revenge against the demons that had harmed her family.

"What happened, Yang? Did they get your hair again?" Ruby asked after she pulled free from her sister's chest.

"Damn right, the bastards. A whole strand gone!" Yang growled, venomously glaring at remnants of the Grimm corpses as they finally dissipated.

What? All that just because they'd cut her hair? This girl was insane.

"Anyway, I see you found some friends. Is one of them your partner?" Yang continued, her anger forgotten.

"Jaune is," Ruby nodded.

Yang looked over at him and smiled, but there was an edge to it that he didn't like.

"You'd better take good care of my li'l sis then," she said sweetly. "I'll know if you don't."

He looked to the spot where the Ursa had just been and then at the ruined forest that surrounded them. All that for a single strand of hair…

"Yeah, sure. I'll protect her with my life," he decided. It was undoubtedly the better option.

"I'm sure you will," Yang laughed as Ruby looked at him in surprise. "And I guess we're partners now. I'm Yang Xiao-Long."

Pyrrha smiled as Yang extended a hand to her, reaching out to shake it only to be surprised when Yang offered her a fist instead.

"You bump your knuckles against hers," Ruby explained after an awkward moment.

"O-oh. Of course. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, it's nice to meet you," Pyrrha said.

Yang grinned brightly.

"Yeah? I've always wanted to fight you," she admitted.

"You want to fight everyone," Ruby muttered and Yang shrugged.

"I'm sure we will be able to spar at some point. And after seeing this, I'm somewhat eager myself," Pyrrha nodded.

"Good. Don't hold back though - I won't," Yang said offhandedly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Pyrrha replied.

Jaune stared at them.

"Right, well, this has been a lovely, touching moment but we still don't have a single relic. You got your Yang, Ruby, so now we gotta go," he said.

"Right! I'll go look for the shovels," Ruby said, glancing around.

"Wait, hang on-" Jaune said.

"Shovels?" Yang asked.

"Jaune thinks the relics are underground, so we gotta dig for 'em," Ruby explained, pointing to her feet.

"I didn't mean-" Jaune tried.

"Underground? Hmm... Well, I did see a cave on my way here, that's kinda underground, right?" Yang contemplated.

"I wasn't being-" Jaune pleaded, a note of desperation in his voice now.

"Yeah! Maybe there's a temple inside the cave!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Oh for the love of- alright. Why not. Let's go into a cave," he agreed. "That's basically a path, surely."

He was a close-quarters warrior anyway, how hard could it be to fight in a cave? Enemies could only come at you from the front. At worst there'd be a few Creeps to kill.

* * *

"Why not. Let's go into a cave. Well now we know why not!" Jaune muttered to himself. "Oh I should have known something was up from those pictures."

"Less talking, more running," Ruby chided him as she sped in front.

"That's easy for you to say, Little Miss Teleport-Semblance. Some of us have to rely on our actual legs!" He replied, risking a glance backwards.

Yep, it was still there.

"It's not teleportation, actually, it's-" Ruby began.

"Is this really the time?" Pyrrha said, an uncharacteristic note of sharpness in her voice as she pointed her rifle over her shoulder and pulled the trigger.

The Grimm screeched, but whether that was in pain or just a normal angry vocalisation remained a mystery. Either way it continued to follow them.

"You gotta admit, this is fun," Yang laughed, her words marked by the thunder of her gauntlets.

"And you! You were the one that suggested this!" He snarled, waving his hands erratically.

"Hey, watch it with that thing. You set me on fire and I will end you, Death Stalker or not," she growled.

"Oh come off it, your Semblance literally sets your hair on fire, you should be used to it," he replied but nonetheless moved the torch away. It paid not to be risky.

"I think I can see the end of the tunnel!" Ruby exclaimed, zipping ahead of them.

"Great. No way that thing will be able to fit through," Jaune said. "Who knows how it even got inside in the first place."

"There might be a bigger entrance somewhere else. This could be a network of caves," Pyrrha said.

"Well then hopefully it's not anywhere near us!" Yang shouted, dodging a swipe from the Death Stalker's pincers.

The light of day was a little disorienting after seeing nothing but torchlight and the faint glow of the venomous sting but there was no time to adjust. They paused a short distance from the tunnel, trying to see if the Grimm could follow them.

"I see the stinger, but it's not moving. It must be stuck then," Jaune muttered.

"Should we run?" Ruby asked.

"No! It's still a Grimm, after all. Let's kill it while we still can," Jaune decided, pulling out his revolver.

He would never let a Grimm go.

As one they lined up, aiming their weapons into the darkness and then released a volley. The Death Stalker screeched in agony as the combined fire struck it in the face. Rage, hunger and hatred drove it to smash itself wildly against the cave entrance.

"It's not dead!" Ruby shouted as the stones began to crack around the entrance, distorting the pictograms.

"Then don't stop shooting until it is!" Jaune yelled, hastily reloading. "If that thing breaks through, we're-"

With a thunderous, furious roar the Death Stalker smashed through the tunnel. It seemed so much bigger now that they could see its entirety, scarred and pockmarked from ancient battles.

What crimson eyes remained that hadn't been shredded by their gunfire focused on the group in front of it. It considered them for a moment, stinger at the ready, before deciding to charge.

"Oh shit!" Jaune yelled, dropping his revolver and reaching for his shield.

The seething mass of the scorpion Grimm smashed into him like a runaway train. Jaune hissed in pain, barely able to hold against its pincers without buckling.

"Jaune!" Ruby called as she surged forward, readying Crescent Rose for a strike.

The Grimm saw her coming and pulled back one of its pincers from Jaune to take a swipe at her. She screamed in pain as it struck her, flinging her aside.

"No!" Yang snarled, her eyes burning red.

Even Ruby would have been surprised by her speed, her fists a blur as they impacted against the bony plates of the ancient Death Stalker. Its exoskeleton crunched, cracking under her Semblance-infused blows.

"Pyrrha, get Ruby, we'll hold it off!" Jaune ordered as Pyrrha cracked off a few shots with Miló.

With the Grimm's attention almost completely pulled from him by Yang's frenzied attacks, Jaune retreated, assessing the monster before him.

Its armour was scarred and pockmarked - mostly ancient wounds. How long it had been in the cave was anyone's guess, but judging by the moss growing on its body it must have been some time. It was undoubtedly the oldest Grimm he'd ever seen.

But it wouldn't be getting any older. Yang was doing a fine job distracting it as she showed it exactly what happened when you hurt her sister. That left it open to attacks from behind - just as he liked it.

Crocea Mors felt light in his two-handed grip and he smiled, his overhead strike biting deep into its leg and then shearing it off completely. It shrieked, turning far faster than he had expected and struck at him quicker than a striking King Taijitu.

He didn't even have time to yell as it snatched him up in a pincer. He groaned in pain, the incredible pressure increasing every second as it tried to sever him in half. How much longer would his armour hold out against such an assault? His Aura? His bones?

"Let him go!" Yang yelled as she wrestled with its other pincer.

The Grimm ignored her however, contemplating the helpless human it had within its grasp. After a moment it raised him up, bringing its stinger to bear.

Jaune stared up at the yellow point as it swayed above him. Even if he survived being impaled, the venom would surely kill him.

"Not this time!" Ruby shouted, her Semblance propelling her forward. Crescent Rose arced, slicing the stinger clean off the Death Stalker's tail.

"T-thanks Ruby," Jaune gasped as the Grimm lurched from side to side in pain.

"Just hold on! We'll get you out, I promise," Ruby exclaimed as she rolled to the side to avoid another swipe.

"D-don't… worry… a-about… me," Jaune spluttered as it tightened its grip even further. There was an ominous creaking noise coming from his breastplate.

Miló was a red streak as the javelin sank into the Death Stalker's eye and it reared back once more, smashing the ground with its claws. Jaune grit his teeth as it bashed him several times before finally flinging him away.

He lay there gasping as he watched the three girls dance around it. The beast was definitely slower now, the damage it had sustained was taking a toll. Yet it still fought ferociously even as Crescent Rose removed two more of its legs.

He crawled along the ground and grabbed his discarded revolver, checking it. Three shots left. His hands shook as he aimed and fired.

"Hey!" Yang shouted as a bullet whizzed past her face and impacted against a tree trunk.

Whoops. Pushing himself upright, he clasped both hands on the gun.

"Pull it my way! It's armour's gone where you hit it Yang, it's vulnerable!" He called to them.

"Got it!" Ruby replied, slashing at its claw with Crescent Rose and nearly chopping the limb off.

"Alright, make 'em count," he whispered to himself.

The Grimm turned to face him as it followed Ruby and then he could see the damaged plates clearly. He grinned and pulled the trigger.

The bullets hit their mark, sinking into the unprotected flesh with a squelch. The beast screeched weakly but slowed and then halted completely before crashing to the ground. It writhed angrily, attempting to wave its undamaged claw at them.

"We did it," Yang said, staring at the immobile Grimm.

"Not yet we didn't," Jaune replied. "Pyrrha, finish it off."

The Death Stalker made one final attempt to rise before stilling, watching the trainee Huntress approach. Pyrrha raised Miló and speared it with all her might.

It shuddered and was no more.

"Finally. Good work, guys. Hope that's the last one of those we see," Jaune laughed humourlessly.

"Are you alright, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as she yanked her weapon free.

"I'll live, I just need a minute. Don't think I can take many more hits though, damn thing nearly crushed me. How about you, Ruby?" He asked, struggling to his feet.

She smiled, nodding.

"I'm good. But please never suggest going into a cave ever again, Yang," she said.

Yang didn't reply, staring up into the sky.

"Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Thought I saw a bird. It was probably nothing though," Yang replied after a moment, shaking her head.

"I can see something in the distance - there's something... pink? It might be some of our comrades," Pyrrha cut in.

"More Grimm? Oh joy... ah well, let's get a move on," Jaune said, sparing the dead Grimm one last glower.

* * *

"Ruins!" Ruby shouted excitedly. "Do you think that's the Temple?"

Jaune frowned, staring at the quartet poking around the broken stone building. Weiss, Black-hair, Pink-lock and Ginger, huh? At least Weiss had been able to find her own way - he didn't like her but few people deserved to fall at the hands of the Grimm.

"To think that we were so close all this time. And we went into that damn cave for nothing," Jaune remarked sourly.

"Ozpin said he'd evaluate our standing as well as the relic, right? Killing a Death Stalker's gotta be worth something," Yang said cheerfully as she approached the ruins.

"Hey Weiss!" Ruby called out at the white-haired girl with a wave. "Hey Blake!"

Weiss was panting lightly and merely stared back, a tired look on her face. Beside her, Blake nodded her head slightly.

"Hah, yeah, guess so," Jaune brightened a little. "So, do we get one each?"

"I think it's one per pair," Pyrrha remarked. "You can choose for us Yang."

"Sure thing! How about a cute little pony?" Yang replied, swiping a White Knight piece.

"A knight, huh?" Jaune murmured. "Interesting."

There weren't many pieces left, it seemed. Perhaps they were one of the last group of students to find the relics.

"I got one too!" Ruby squealed, waving her own Knight piece.

"Great. Then we head back to the cliffs and we should be golden. I don't know about you, but I could do with a rest," Jaune admitted.

"I'm always golden," Yang said confidently, striding past him.

He watched her go for a moment. Man those were some tiny shorts.

"If you say so," he replied absently. "I don't suppose anyone brought any rope? No? Then we're going to have to improvise."

* * *

"Yang Xiao-Long, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team JYRN, lead by... Jaune Arc," Ozpin announced.

Him? They were making him the leader? He didn't know how to lead! Surely this was a mistake. Someone else should take it - Ruby maybe. Probably not Yang. How about Pyrrha, she seemed like she'd be good for it.

It was a little flattering they'd named the team after him though.

He opened his mouth to complain but was cut off by a friendly punch to his shoulder that nearly knocked him over.

"Congratulations, young man," Ozpin nodded at him as his new teammates smiled at him, Ruby offering him an encouraging thumbs up.

"And finally... Lie Ren, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team BRWN, lead by Weiss Schnee."

The white-haired girl smiled smugly, secure in the knowledge that this had always been her destined path.

"Naturally," she smirked, admiring her pristine nails.

"Congratulations to you all and welcome to Beacon. For the next four years you will live, train and fight together. And, should you make it to the end, you will become more than just a team. You will become a family," Ozpin finished.

"Yang and I are already family though," Ruby murmured.

"Well then we become family squared!" Yang exclaimed, grabbing her sister and rubbing her head aggressively as the girl squeaked and tried to wriggle free.

"I don't really know why they made me the Leader, but here's my first order. Let's go get something to eat. Tomorrow we are Hunters. We'd better prepare ourselves," Jaune decided.

Team JYRN, hmm? They would make their mark on the world, he was sure of it.

* * *

 **And so it begins, two new teams arise to take the world by storm.**

 **It is so hard to make decent colour names out of such a small selection of letters, what a dumb system that is.**


	5. A Lesson Learned

It was a familiar scene, but no less horrifying for the repetition. The screams and growls reverberated around his mind, louder than they'd ever been in reality. The light of the shattered moon shone upon the bare trees, casting shadows in every direction.

But some shadows held darker secrets.

His sword, still coated in the blood of his sister, was poised to attack. The beast snarled at him, razor teeth gleaming as its jaws opened impossibly wide. And then it lunged for him.

"Graah!" He yelled, shooting upright.

The black and red shape before him reared backwards in surprise. Grimm! He punched forward to keep it at bay while his left hand quested for his sword but struck only duvet.

What?

He blinked several times and the world came back into focus. The figure before him was not a demonic nightmare but the unmistakable image of his partner.

"Ruby? What are you doing?" He asked hoarsely.

Ruby stared at him, her silver eyes wide before pulling the whistle from her lips.

"Good morning Jaune!" She exclaimed, jumping down from his bed as he sluggishly rose to his feet.

"...Sure. What's with the whistle?" He mumbled.

She ignored him, turning to greet her sister and other teammate.

"Now that you're awake we can officially begin our first order of business!" She said, pumping her arms for effect.

He yawned disinterestedly, lazily eyeing the pile of items Yang was holding.

"Decorating!" Yang said.

"Is this really that important?" Jaune asked, picking up his uniform. "Also I need to get changed."

"Of course it is! Yang, Pyrrha, Jaune and second-in-command Ruby will begin their-" Ruby exclaimed, but then froze as he began to remove his sleepwear.

"Wow Jaune, you been workin' out?" Yang asked as he stood there shirtless.

"Yes," he said shortly, pushing his arm into a shirt.

"On second thought, it can wait!" Ruby shouted, grabbing Yang and Pyrrha and dragging them to the door.

He laughed to himself for a short while as he continued to dress himself. Satisfied with the way he looked, he turned to call his team back inside but paused. Was the door open slightly? No, it was probably just his imagination.

"Alright you three, you can come back in now," he called.

The door opened instantly, all three girls returning with slightly reddened faces.

"You said something about decorating?" He asked.

"That's right, though I didn't bring many items with me from home," Pyrrha admitted.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha, we've got plenty of posters and stuff to spruce this place up!" Ruby declared, swiping one from her sister.

In one smooth movement she turned and slapped the poster on a wall. Achieve Men, huh? Well, he was hardly unused to boy band posters - his elder sisters had a few in their rooms.

"You do that," he said casually as he adjusted his tie.

It was funny to see them run around, adjusting the room to their liking - though somewhat less funny when Ruby decided to use her weapon to help their Feng Shui, causing some damage to the curtains.

"It's a good thing I know a bit about sewing," Jaune grumbled as he tried to fix the torn fabric.

"Some girls like that kind of thing, y'know. You're house-husband material," Yang laughed.

"I'll bear that in mind," he said dryly.

"Know how to cook at all?" She continued as she moved a lamp an inch to the left.

"I can make a few dishes, but I'm hardly a chef," he said, finally finishing with the curtain surgery.

"That's a lot better than Yang, at least," Ruby chimed in. "We don't let her near the kitchen."

"Hey!" Yang frowned, crossing her arms together. "You're no better."

"Are we done here?" He cut in to forestall any arguments.

He knew how quickly banter could turn ugly.

"It would seem so," Pyrrha said, glancing around.

It wasn't the neatest job he'd ever seen but it was good enough.

"Although… We could always turn our beds into bunkbeds!" Ruby cheered.

He stared at her in confusion.

"What? How, exactly?" He asked.

She wasn't a carpenter as a well as a weaponsmith was she?

"Well, we stack them on top of each other, right? Maybe we could tie one to the ceiling?" She muttered, gazing at the beds speculatively.

"No. No bunkbeds, that's crazy. You can't just pile beds on top of each other, that's bound to go wrong. What if one collapses in the middle of the night?!" He exclaimed, waving his hands.

"Aww," Ruby said despondently as Yang frowned at him for spoiling her sister's fun.

Pyrrha silently sighed in relief.

"Maybe you should ask one of the teachers if we can have actual, proper bunkbeds. I don't mind that," he added.

It'd be like a return to the old days. Before there had been enough space for him to have his own room.

Ruby perked up, nodding happily.

"I believe it's nearly time for us to head to class," Pyrrha added, checking her scroll.

"Is it? I didn't even get to have breakfast," Jaune said with a groan.

"We might be able to grab a quick snack on the way," Pyrrha said placatingly.

"Alright! Our second order of business is breakfast. And then classes," Ruby said as they headed out the door.

"What classes have we got anyway?" Jaune asked.

The group paused as loud, argumentative voices began to sound out from Team BRWN's dorm.

"Sounds like they're having fun," Yang laughed. "Anyway, it was Grimm Studies wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's correct. With Professor Port. I hear he's quite a distinguished Huntsman," Pyrrha confirmed.

"Really? Then we'll be off to a good start," Jaune said.

* * *

The man before them was undoubtedly the oldest Huntsman he'd ever seen. From a logical perspective that could only be a good thing - bad (or just plain unlucky) Huntsmen did not survive to old age.

It was just a shame that he seemed more interested in talking about himself than explaining how to actually fight Grimm. The few moments where he did talk about defeating the enemies of all Mankind were either nonsensical or appeared to be completely made up.

And what his uncle smelling of cabbages had to do with anything was a mystery. As was the metal cage that sat by the man's desk, occasionally twitching.

Still, he was hardly the only one not taken in by the teacher's waffling. Beside him sat Ruby, happily scribbling away. She held up her drawing to them, earning a snicker from Yang as the blonde lay her head on her desk.

Pyrrha, for her part, tried not to look amused by the childish picture and actually attempted to pay attention to the lecture, but was only partially successful.

On the other side of Ruby sat Weiss, who seemed significantly displeased by that fact. Her group had been later to arrive then his own and most seats had been taken already, separating her from her own team.

Privately he suspected they were grateful for it.

Regardless, the girl was clearly put off by Ruby's antics if the baleful glances she threw their way every few seconds were any indication.

"Something wrong, Weiss?" He asked archly.

She turned her gaze onto him, perfect teeth clenched so hard it was a wonder they didn't shatter. There was something strangely enticing about her look of abject frustration.

He paid her no more attention, however, as Port continued to speak.

"-Strategic, well-educated and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port finished, staring out at the class.

Weiss's hand shot up and she opened her mouth.

"Me. I do," Jaune spoke, his louder voice drowning out his classmate's.

Port glanced between the two as Weiss literally shook with fury.

"I see. Well then, let's find out. Mister Arc, step forward and face your opponent," Port ordered.

The classroom muttered amongst themselves as he stood up to join the portly professor.

"Professor, I raised my hand first," Weiss complained.

"Now now, Miss Schnee. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to prove yourself in the future," Port dismissed her.

She sank back in her seat with a snarl etched onto her face as Jaune stood before the cage.

"I'm ready Professor," he said confidently.

"Come now my boy, I admire your spirit but it's still much too early for you to be fighting Grimm with your bare hands! Go and change into your combat equipment and then we shall see what you are made of," Port declared.

Jaune ducked his head in embarrassment as the class laughed. His weapons, of course he needed them. Chastised, he shuffled off even as Yang called out her desire to see him fight it unarmed.

Hey, that was way too little lien for her to be offering as a bet!

* * *

The cage rattled as the beast within threw itself against the door. His team shouted encouragement from their seats but he could barely hear them as he focused on the creature before him.

It had been some time since he had last slain a Creature of Grimm single-handedly. While it was unlikely that Port intended to release a particularly deadly one onto first-year students, any Grimm was dangerous in its own right, no matter how small.

He drew his blade from its metal sheath and then expanded that into his shield. Taking a deep breath, he nodded at the overweight professor.

"Alright. Let the match… begin!" Port said, smashing open the lock with a swing of his weapon.

The Grimm squealed angrily, immediately charging forward to impale him upon its tusks.

Ah. Not the Beowolf he had been expecting. He had never fought a Boarbatusk before and while he had learned a little about them previously, none of the information was coming to mind now.

But there was no time to curse his memory for failing him as the mass of tooth and bone smashed into his shield. It was a tough blow but nothing like the power of the Death Stalker, so he stood his ground and swiped at the Boarbatusk.

It shrieked as Crocea Mors sliced through the tip of one of its tusks and carved out an eye. First blood to him.

The crowd chattered excitedly, his team hollering even louder in support as the Boarbatusk backed off to assess its prey. Now that he had it on the back foot, all he had to do was press home his advantage.

He grinned, gripping his sword with both hands as he rushed forward to deliver another strike. But the Grimm was not content to let the Huntsman come to it, instead jumping up into the air and rolling into a ball.

He froze, pulling back a little in confusion. What the hell was it even doing?

The answer came very quickly indeed as the spinning Grimm rammed into him once more. The extra momentum provided much more strength to the hit, pushing him back a little.

It was undeterred by the impact against his shield this time and continued to try to rip his flesh at close range. A stray tusk hooked under his shield in its frenzied writhing, the Grimm wrenching its head side to side as it tried to savage him.

Distantly he could hear Ruby shouting something about its belly, but he was a little busy trying to keep the Boarbatusk at bay. It had closed the gap too close for him to stab it in the head and he'd been forced to drop his sword to grab ahold of it.

This naturally was not a pleasing arrangement for either of them, the Boarbatusk only growing angrier and more aggressive breastplate with surprising force as it snapped at his face. It gave a particularly fierce tug and the tusk he was holding in his right hand - the one he had shortened earlier - slipped through his fingers.

With only his shield to keep it at bay, the Grimm squealed once more, seeming victorious. It pushed him down inch by inch as he scrambled fruitlessly to regain his hold. It was almost completely on top of him now, worrying hard at his shield in an attempt to remove his last defence.

"It appears that you're having some trouble," Port chortled, but made no move to assist him.

"It's not over yet," Jaune grunted, feeling his aura drain as the beast thrashed, tusks digging into his skin.

His sword had been knocked aside and out of reach but he still had other options.

He pulled his shield away a few inches before smashing it into the Grimm's face as it tried to rip out his throat. The blow was not a strong one but it distracted it for a few seconds - long enough for his other hand to fumble at his hip, easing out his revolver.

It was hard to manipulate his weapon into position but somehow he managed it, the barrel poking against its unarmoured belly.

"Thank you, Ruby," he muttered as he pulled the hammer back.

The Boarbatusk screeched louder than ever as the first round tore through it, but collapsed under repeated fire. Jaune panted, exhausted as he pushed the dead Grimm off his chest.

"Bravo, bravo!" Port said as Jaune struggled to his feet. "It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntsman in training."

His team all cheered, pumping their fists and waving their arms but Jaune looked up to Weiss instead. The white-haired girl was sneering as hard as ever, unimpressed with his performance.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today, be sure to cover the assigned readings. And stay vigilant!" Port dismissed them.

Weiss stood up immediately, flouncing off with a decidedly displeased air. But that was the norm for her, so it was hardly something to consider important.

Instead he pulled his gaze from her rapidly retreating form to smile at his team.

He had passed his first test and hopefully there would be more successes to come.

* * *

"You were like 'woosh'! And it was like 'squeeee!' And then you-" Ruby chattered excitedly, waving her arms as she recounted the events for the third time.

"I think we get it Ruby," Yang said fondly, tousling her sister's hair. "We were all there."

Jaune just shrugged, chewing his meal. Victory had tasted sweet, but so did a plate of bacon.

"When it had you on the floor, I thought you were a goner," Nora interjected, grinning at him from across the table. "But then you had a hidden weapon. Sneaky."

Jaune glanced up at her, noting the boy sat beside her, seemingly of his own free will. Just what hold the ginger-haired hurricane had over him remained a mystery. As was the reason why she had chosen to join them at the table instead of the rest of her team.

"Well, not everyone has a fancy multi-purpose weapon. Us lesser mortals have to make do, I guess. But I'm sure I could have come up with some other way, if need be - it was only a single Boarbatusk," he responded after a few moments. "If it had been an Ursa Major maybe it might have been different."

The girl's eyes sparkled at the idea.

"You think they'll make us fight Ursa Majors?!" She shouted, pushing up on the table as Ren leaned away from her sudden burst of movement.

Jaune blinked, unsure what to make of her inquiry.

"Uhh… Maybe? Can't just keep killing weak Grimm forever, right? Eventually we're gonna have to fight things like King Taijitu and such on our own," he explained.

Ren smiled a little, apparently amused by some distant memory.

"Don't worry, Nora, I'm sure you will get the opportunity to fight some larger Grimm in time," Pyrrha said diplomatically.

Nora nodded emphatically, clearly imagining herself slaying the most monstrous of Grimm. Privately Jaune doubted her chances against any of the tougher monsters alone were all that high - she was hardly the strongest looking girl in the world.

Then he looked to his side, watching as his partner snacked on a strawberry, the picture of innocence. Looks could be deceiving, he supposed.

"I hear that the older years get to go on Grimm-hunting missions," Yang said with a smirk. "Some of them are there for over a week, just them out in the wilderness with a load of Grimm."

"Sounds like a fun camping trip," Ruby added through a mouthful of fruit.

Jaune's mood soured at the thought, but he tried not to let it show on his face. Judging by the looks his team threw him, he wasn't all that successful.

"For now we get to fight small ones in a controlled environment," he said tightly. "And then there's sparring as well, of course."

That roused everyone's interest. The chance to test each other's mettle in a sanctioned fight was an eagerly anticipated opportunity indeed.

"Oh yeah, anyone you're interested in going up against?" Yang asked.

He considered the idea for a few moments before shrugging.

"No one in particular. Hopefully not you though, those punches of yours look brutal," he admitted as Yang preened at the praise.

"Hah. Still aiming for you, Pyrrha," the girl said, nudging her partner who smiled gently.

"Me too!" Nora cut in. "We heard all about you back in Mistral. I wanna see if it's all true."

Pyrrha's smile shrank minutely, but she nodded.

"You're from Mistral as well? How nice. I can't promise that all the rumours are true, but should we spar I'll do my best," she agreed.

Jaune pushed his empty plate away as the rest of his team began to stand.

"Guess we'll have to wait and see then," he said.

Tomorrow would be their first taste of human combat.

* * *

 **For those that read the last chapter prior to the update, I ended up changing the team names because I came up with better ones. Well, I think they're better at any rate. Ruby got a team named after her, how could I resist the opportunity?**


End file.
